What Peas Taught Me about Changing Behavior

These are the last shelling peas of the season. Calculating how far I could stretch this sweet green joy of summer, I asked the farmer how long they would keep in the pods. She suggested I shell them and pop them in the freezer.

I demurred. “I don’t freeze food,” I said. And truly, the freezer is the emptiest space in my home.

“Neither do I,” said the farmer, “But I freeze peas.”

Changing behavior and attitudes

I bought an extra bagful, and now I’m contemplating the unthinkable.

Freezing food has never appealed to me. Living on Manhattan island, with fresh food in abundance, freezing is hardly a necessity.

But the farmer got me thinking, and not just about freezing peas. Now I’m analyzing what led me to reconsider a long held position, one that was previously not open for debate.

Many times each year, I face the end of a cherished vegetable’s season, but never before have I considered freezing them to extend the pleasure. What’s different now? How did she get me to consider changing my behavior?

Trust inspires us to reconsider

Today is the first time this farmer suggested freezing. I’ve been buying strawberries, veggies and an occasional fresh brook trout from her since my grown kids were little kids, one in the snuggly, one by the hand.

She’s not certified organic; she’s heart-and-soul organic. She eats what she sells.

I don’t trust the legal organic label, with its month-long sell-by date on milk. (How fresh is month-old milk?)

I trust the farmer. I share her values. She’s an expert, knowledgeable about her food, generous with her knowledge, and with samples.

I trust her, and I’m grateful I can buy from her.

Which is why these peas may be headed for the freezer. If I don’t eat them first.

Inspiring others to try Reiki

What’s ripe for change in your life? Maybe the way you speak about Reiki? When we ask people to consider Reiki, we are asking them to change their behavior, and often their attitude about healing and self-care.

People don’t change behavior easily. We need to gain their confidence, to show them we are credible and trustworthy. It starts with our manner and continues with our choice of words, and our ability to have a conversation rather than proselytize.

How do you inspire the person who asks about Reiki to trust your values, and thereby your perspective? What is it in your manner and presentation that helps people new to Reiki consider changing their attitudes and behavior? Please share your insights in a comment below.

Celebrating Reiki Practice Since 1986

Comments

I really love this article for its appeal to openness. We all need to be reminded to stay open and flexible. I think deep down we are all wide open. Unfortunately, a combination of fear, misinformation, misperception, and who knows what else, seems to close us down. As Reiki practitioners, we can meet people where they are at by listening to what they have to say about their fears and misperceptions about Reiki practice. And, as you taught so many of us, if we stay calm and present; demonstrate by our words and actions that we are trustworthy; live the precepts in the moments we are with people, I do believe they can and will open up to the practice of Reiki.

We’ve been gardening a large garden for over 20 years in So. Cal. We’ve been freezing and dehydrating the abundance all these years. Fresh, blanched green beans picked in June, steamed in November taste like summer and are far more nutritious than what we can buy in the store: fresh or frozen. We share, dehydrate and freeze what we can’t eat. (It’s a really big garden) What else works from the freezer? Roasted tomatoes, chard rolls (amazing), amaranth, berries for baking, fava beans, bell peppers, tomatillos, lemon and lime juice, peaches. We are still learning. Our garden teaches us something every year about nature and ourselves. Just came in from the garden where I shared Reiki with green beans poking their heads out of the ground, planted for a Fall harvest.

Consistent, continuing Reiki practice leads us into ever deepening understanding, not just of the practice, but of ourselves, and life itself.

Today only.

The more poised we are, open to reconsider anything, the more likely others will be drawn to that ease within us, and feel more open to hearing about Reiki, rather than repelled by our need to enroll them.

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"I am consistently inspired by your passion and clarity. Thank you for what you do. You help me do what I do better."Lori-Lyn Hurley, Reiki master
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